Potentially setting a new record for distance travelled by a production electric car on a single charge, a Tesla Roadster finished the entire, 241-mile-long Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives without even draining its battery.

The current distance record, a 275-mile run completed by a Solectria Sunrise, is technically longer than the Tesla's 241-mile achievement. But the Tesla's battery showed about 38 miles worth of juice left in the battery, which, if verified, would top the Solectria's record. The Tesla roadster bested a modified Porsche 911 and several of Mitsubishi's new crop of electric vehicles.

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We should note that the Tesla was driven by a company staffer, who surely knows every trick to getting the best mileage out of the Roadster. The course consists of windy mountain roads in addition to standard highway driving, so the average speed was only about 28 mph, with a high of about 56 mph. Still, a nearly 280-mile range is a serious achievement for an electric car in production. [Reg Hardware]